The late Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra present a collection of Haydn's London Symphonies alongside the spirited Oxford Symphony. Sir Colin Davis was long recognised as a pre-eminent Haydn interpreter. During his Indian summer with the orchestra he recorded both ‘The Creation’ and ‘The Seasons’ for LSO Live. The symphonies presented here were recorded in 2011 and make for revelatory listening.
Entering a new chapter after the death of Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, Haydn's forward-looking late symphonies were conceived on a large scale and exude all the hallmarks of the composer's protean maturity. Surpassing even his own high standards and received to an enormous success, their expressive strength and inventive mastery of form gave his international reputation a substantial boost: Haydn's contrapuntal mastery and thematic rigour are laid bare for all to see.
“If anyone complains that the forces used are too large, they should remember that Haydn, like Mozart and Beethoven, liked big orchestras. In any case, the string textures Davis secures are irreproachably crisp and clear, and the rhythms vital. Not to be missed.” (Sunday Times)